Sugar mill housing



June 3, 1952 C, PROVQST 2,599,125

SUGAR MILL HOUSING Filed April 17, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 i Xf' June 3, 1952 Filed April 17, .1947

FIG. G

c. PRovos'r 2,599,125I

SUGAR MILL HOUSING 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FIG. 2

FIG. 7 FIG. 7G

1 Q 7:1,` CAMILLE -I Rovos'r,

Patented June 3, 1952 @UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,599,125 SUGAR MILL HOUSING `Camille Provost, Jeanerette, La.

Application Apri117, 1947, serial No. 742,056

(el. o- 47) 1 Claim.

The present invention .relates generally to sugar mills and more particularly to improvements in mounting the rollers of three-roller mill'units.

Modern cane milling plants usually consist of a cane carrier or conveyor upon which the cane is unloaded from cars or trucks, a 2-roller crusher for crushing the cane as it is received from the cane carrier, and a series of 3-roller mills in tandem, with suitable bagasse conveyors between adjacent mills. A conveyor then carries the bagasse 01T to a storage space or the like, while the extracted juice feeds oi from the bottom of each mill for further treatment.

The rollers of these 3-rol1er mills range in size from34 to 37V in diameter and '78" to 84 in length, and are arranged with one roller at the top and two below at each side of the top roller. `Hydraulic pressure is applied from'an accumulator tojacks acting downwardly on each end of the top roller, which is free to move vertically, thus exerting heavy pressure on the feed of crushed cane passing between the rollers. The top roller thus -iioats on the cane lblankets changing its vertical position slightly with changes in thickness of the blanket, under a pressure of approximately 'l0 to 80 tons per foot of its length, or a total pressure of 500 .to 550 tons. These rollers wear at the rate of about 1A, per season on the usual French type mills, which mills are only capable of adjustment sufcient to compensate 0r fromone to two inches of wear, after which period, the angle of pressure has been materially changed. and the crushing power decreased so that efficient operation is no longer possible.

Consequently, vwith the known types of mills, the rollers must be renewed every three years, which renewing Iprocess is expensive and time consuming. The cost of reshelling the rollers is approximately $1,000.00 and up per roller. Also, with the usual French type mills, new turn plates must be supplied at an approximate cost of $200.00 per plate, after each adjustment of the lrollers until finally they must be removed for reshelling'. This requirement of new turn-plates after each adjustment for wear is because the bearings for the roller shafts are so mounted that each adjustment changes the angle `of pressure between the top and bottom rollers with the result that the distance between the two lower rollers varies with each adjustment, requiring a different size turn-plate. Furthermore, sugar cane. of the moth borer resistant variety developed in localities like Louisiana have very hard stalks, which cause more rapid wear of the rollers than hereinbefore mentioned, Y v

vThere have been attempts to develop .3-roller mills, wherein the relative distances between the crushing points of the rollers and the Vturn-plate are not greatly changed, but these prior art structures have `inadequate crushing power for forcing the juice `from hard stalked ca-nerand the mill housing is structurally changed so as to permit a rocking action of the bagasse vroller toward and away lfrom the turn-plate. This rocking action reduces the crushing powerand also causes constant variations in the angle of pressure between the top roller and thebagasse roller during the crushing operation, withL kthe result that these mills are not satisfactory in operation, particularly for crushing hard stalk cane of the Louisiana variety.

Also, there have been 3-r0ller mill housing developed for angular adjustment ofthe feed and bagasse rollers in a xed housing. VWith these mills the housing is constructed of two heavy separable parts keyed together and once the'key is worn after several seasons, it is necessary to drill out the key before the mill can-whe taken apart. However, the mill housing of. the present invention can be readily separatedafter long use for renewing parts when necessary,.and much time and extra labor is saved.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a 3-roller mill having the rollers mounted for adjustment to compensate for `wear over-a much longer period than heretofore, and wherein the rollers are -so positioned and arranged with respect to the roller mountings in the housing as to be maintainable to their same relative positions, whereby the same space is maintainable between the opposed outer circumferences of the bottom rollers, regardless of the number Vof times adjustment is made for wear, so that turn-plate is not required to be replaced after each adjustment. I

Another object is to provide a novel arrangement and distribution of parts, whereby most of the strain is placed against the bottom of the mill housing and the lowermost bolts 0f the housing. For example, conventional sugar mill housings place the stress and strain vertically and on parallel centers rather than at apredetermined angle, such as a 30 degree angle with the apex at the center axis of the top roller, as in the present invention. f

The above objects are attained by the provi-v sionv of improved mill housings for mounting the bearings of the rollers at each end, said housings having sidebearing recesses for angularly directing or guiding the bearings and axes of each bottom roller toward 4the center of the axis of .the

` screw or `32; bearing .block 34 forlmounting one end of Vthe top roller, along straight lines representative at two sides of an isosceles triangle, from a common horizontal base line along the center axes of the two lower rollers so that when the two bottom rollers are adjusted upwardly along the sides of the triangle to compensate for the fractional amount of wear of each roller, the bottom rollers may always be accurately maintained at the proper spaced-apart positions to accommodate the same standardwidth turn-plate. Y

A further object of the invention is to'provide in combination with the improved housing and roller mounting, novel means for moving and securing the rollers to adjusted positions along a predetermined angular path. s Y

Additional objects and advantages-of the -present invention will be apparent to thosejskilled in the art after reading the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings; in

which: l

Y'Figure j l` isV a front jelev'ationalV view`of; amill housing formed Yaccording-to thev present inventioi--whereby the' angle 'of 'pressureywhichfor example, isset at 30,alway'sremains'thesame aftereach adjustment for roller wear. i

,x1-Figure 2 is Ya' frontl elevational view of a 3-roller mill,'b1tfan-end view ofthe mill housings `showing the'rollers'mountedtherebetween. s ^`JFigure` 3`isa diagrammatic View of the position of fthe three rollers; illustrating the'l'irincipl` of adjustment thereoffwhereby theangle of pressurej is" no't changed Aand the 'opposed-peripheral i distance between. the rollersremains constant at the turn-plate position. f Y l Figure 4 is a bottom plan Vview of the adjusting bolt and .one of the 'main'.wed'ge members. i l f VFigure 5"is` a transverse cross sectional 'View Y taken along the line 5---5v of Figure 4; Y

" Figure 6 is a view partly in elevation; and partly in section, .illustrating the position of the. split -Wingnuts secured or mountedaround the adjusting'bolt; Y

"Itigurefl is a top and side view of one of the 'split wing nuts. j A

'Figure 7a is a side'elevational view of one of the wing nuts. i

"With reference to the present novel improve- `ments-'there is shown a unitary housing 22, providedwiththree bearing openings 24, 25, and 26 foif`the 'ends of the threeroller shafts 30, 3l, and In the top bearing opening 24 is mounted a shaftS'offthe `top roller 35, which bearing block androllerl is'mounted like the top roller bearing block of the usual French type mill under `hydraulicpressurefrom a jack or ram36, mount- Vedjaborvev a'top cap 31, secured-to the top of the housing by king bolts 38' and 39. The similarity to the usual type housing is changed, according to ithe present invention, below the top roller mounting.Y For example, the inner side wall of the lower bearing openings 25 and 26 are formed atan angle to ahorizontal straight line connecting the centeraxes of thelower roller bearing shafts` Stand 32, so as to provide, a 30l angle of pressure between the top and both lower rollers. Thus,-when theV side caps 42 and 43 are secured to the housing 22 by bolts 44, they,"together'with theY inner side wall ofthe bearing openings, form meansfadapted'to guide -the bearing blocks 45 and-46 of fthe' lower rollers 41 and 48 along Ja straightpath at a previously set predetermined angle'The side walls of the bearing openings are formedwith guide flanges or ribs 49 and 50,

which fit in cooperating grooves formed along the sides of each bearing block 45 and 46. Thus, when wear occurs, the bearing blocks 45 and 46 are guided along a fixed angular path for a calculated distance equal to the wear of each roller. This adjustment, as illustrated in Figure 3, always retains the same angle of pressure and same distance between the opposed points of the lowerr roller circumferences or peripheries adjacent the edges of a turn-,plate 20.' As for each amount of Wear, 'each roller is moved upwardly a distance equal to the amount of wear along a trihedral angle from each end of a horizontal baseline 52, connecting the axes of the lower rollers, and having its apex 53 at the center axis of the top roller 35.

v The side caps-42 and 43 comprise a thick central portion apertured for an adjusting bolt or screwv 55 to extend through into a chamber 56 below the bearing openings 25 and 26 of each lower roller. .Theserchambers 56 communicate with the Ylower end of.. the ,bearing openings. and mountedlthereiri are: operating members, movable bythe 'adjusting bolt,55. 5- f l LTheroperating members in chambers- 56 comprise'a main adjusting wedge threaded onto the end 'of the adjusting bolt 55by a nut 64k and an equalizing wedge BIslidably mounted on arib fonithetop of Vthe main wedge, said 'wedges'l being .in Contact with thebottom of the vbearings 45.and 56; see Figures`.5.and 6. A

The adjusting boltV 55Lis headed vandcoi'nprises a smooth unthreaded s'hankpo'rtion Y68 b'elowthe head with an intermediate enlarged stop portion or body 69"formed thereon.V On each side of the body 69 are a pair of spliti breech lock wing nuts 12 and 13,?.formed with annular lugs 14 and 15, Y respectively; see Figure 6.

The split nut 12 mountsl around the bolt 55 under the body 69 with theannular Vlug 14 projecting around the body and "spaced therefrom, While the split nut 15 mounts around thebolt 55 from the opposite side of the body 69 and its annular Vlug 15 projects into the space between the lug 14 and the body 69.Thus, there are provided pairs of spaced apart wings on the nuts 12 and 13 adapted to be turned into and out of line with each other, as explained in the next paragraph.

Cooperating with the split wing nuts 12 and 13 is a counterbored opening 18 in the side plates or caps 42 and 43 connecting with the opening for adjustment bolt 55. The top edge of the counterbored opening 18 is circular and partially formed with overlapping flanges 19 and 80, to thereby form spaces 82 and 83 between the ends of the flanges similar in outline to the lined-up position of the wings of the nuts 12 and 13. Thus, in assembling the side bearing blocks 45 and 46, wedges 60 and 6|, and side caps 42 and 43, the wing nuts are turned to register with the spaces 82 and 83. After the bolt 55 has been threaded into the wedge nut 64 and the split wing nut 12 seats on the bottom of the counterbored opening 18, then the nuts 12 and 13 may be turned Yout of line so that the wings of each nut engage under the angesTQ and 80, to thereby lock the breech of" the adjusting bolt 55 within the cap in position for adjustment when necessary.

Operation The adjustment of the rollers to compensate for wear isV probably apparent from the foregoing description of the several parts; however, a brief summary of the adjustment operation is as follows: A

The rollers have becomeworn after a` season of use, for example, to an amount of 1A". If they are permitted to remain thus without takeup for wear, the cane bagasse will wedge in between the lower rollers, and the turn-plate and the crushing power of the rollers will be critically decreased. Accordingly, each adjusting screw or bolt 55 is turned so as to thread the main adjusting wedge 60 for each lower roller forward in chambers 56, whereupon equalizing wedges 6| serve to raise the bearing blocks 45 and 46.

As previously explained, the bearing blocks are guided by side flanges 49 and 50 `along an angular path of a. known angle toward the center axis of the top roller 35 for a distance equal to the amount of wear of each roller, in this instance 1/4".

When this adjustment is made, the outer peripheries of the lower rollers are again in proper position with respect to the turn-plate Iand the top roller, with the angle of pressure between the rollers still the same. Obviously, these adjustments can be repeated for many seasons without replacing or renewing the parts, such as turnplates or rollers, and much labor, time and expense are saved.

Without further description, it is believed that the novel arrangement of parts and combinations thereof are readily apparent from the foregoing description, and while the embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed and described constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the appended claim which follows.

I claim:

In a three roller mill having the top roller fixed for rotation with a turn plate having end housings formed with bearing recesses and bearing blocks for rotatably mounting and angularly moving the axes of each of the lower rollers of the mill in a straight line from the axis of each lower roller to the axis of the top roller, said bearing blocks being angularly movable along a straight line centered from the respective axes of the lower rollers to the axis of the top roller in each of said recesses to permit adjustment of the axes of the lower rollers whenrmoving said bearing means in converging straight lines to compensate for wear of the roller surfaces, to thereby maintain the same angle of pressure between the rollers and the same position with respect to the turn plate, compound raising and lowering means for adjusting said bearing blocks comprising a pair of wedge members, one of each pair operatively supporting one of said bearing blocks, said members including a main Wedge having a longitudinally extending threaded `bore and an equalizing wedge slidable relative to each other, a bolt with a threaded end, a head and an enlargement below the head, said threaded end being adjustably engaged in the threaded bore of the main wedge for relatively adjusting the wedge members, whereby said exterior roller surfaces are maintainable at said same angle of pressure and position with respect to the turn plate and means on the bolt embracing each side of the said enlargement on the bolt serving to lock said bolt against axial movement.

CAL/[ILLE PROVOST.

REFEREN CES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 373,866 Torrance Nov. 29, 1887 426,568 Leverich Apr. 29, 1890 1,044,127 Boyer Nov. 12, 1912 1,083,752 Martz Jan. 6, 1914 1,097,842 Boyer May 26, 1914 1,222,247 Stafford Apr. 10, 1917 1,527,560 Kindervater Feb. 24, 1925 1,663,582 Bonney Mar. 27, 1928 2,316,843 Compain Apr. 20, 1943 

